The crowd inside Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater on January 9 is awaiting what is being billed as “An Evening With Jeff Bridges.” And officially, that’s how things are going to unfold: A brief set of highlights from the actor’s 40-year career will unspool, after which Bridges will take the stage for a Q&A, to be followed by a screening of his 1971 breakthrough, The Last Picture Show. It’s all been skillfully designed to permit film buffs to pretend that they are not participating in an Oscar campaign. The only problem is, nobody’s buying it, least of all the audience, which fills the air with gossip about the Academy Awards chances of Bridges’s new film, Crazy Heart.

With now 10 films competing for Best Picture, everyone needs to step up their game. Personally, I do not which movie I will be cheering on to win the golden little man. I haven’t seen all the movies, but the ones that I have, that do stand out are Precious, The Hurt Locker and Inglorious Basterds. And no I have not seen Avatar. I hope it doesn’t win. It made enough money and box office success. Let that be enough.

Haven’t put much thought into any actors yet. I will once the Academy Awards airs.

Which movie are you hoping wins for Best Picture? What did you think of the New York Magazine article?